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SpeculumliteratureWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Speculumliterature
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Themedievalgenreofspeculumliterature,popularfromthe
twelfththroughthesixteenthcenturies,wasinspiredbytheurge
toencompassencyclopedicknowledgewithinasinglework.The
modernequivalentisasummarysurvey,inthesenseofasurvey
articleinascholarlyjournalthatsummarizesafieldofresearch.
Thespeculumimage,ofthemirrorthatreflectsfarandwide,was
drawnfromthemagicalmirrorthatwassupposedtobelong
amongthetreasuresoflegendaryPresterJohnsomewhereinthe
Eastthroughiteveryprovincecouldbeseen:
"Beforeourpalacestandsamirror,theascenttowhich
consistsoffiveandtwentystepsofporpyryandserpentine
...Thismirrorisguardeddayandnightbythreethousand
men.Welookthereinandbeholdallthatistakingplacein
everyprovinceandregionsubjecttooursceptre."[1]
Inthegenre"SpeculumofPrinces",theprince'srealmswere
surveyedandhisdutieslaidout.Otherspeculaofferedmirrorsof
history,ofdoctrineormorals,
Anumberofmedievalbooktitlesincludethewordspeculum:

ThisauthorportraitofVincentof
Beauvaisinamanuscriptofhis
SpeculumHistoriale,containsan
actualconvexmirrorasavisualpun.
FrenchtranslationbyJeandeVignay,
Bruges,c.14781480,forEdward
IVBritishLibrary

Speculumalchimiae,the"MirrorofAlchemy",writtenby
RogerBacon.
Speculumastronomiae,writtenbyAlbertusMagnus.
Speculumecclesiae,the"MirroroftheChurch",writtenbyEdmundRich.
Speculumhistoriale,partofSpeculumMaiusthe"GreatMirror"writtenbyVincentofBeauvais.
SpeculumHumanaeSalvationis,the"Mirrorofhumansalvation",writtenc.130924,perhapsby
LudolphofSaxony.
Speculumjudiciale,orSpeculumiuris,the"MirrorforJudges",writtenbyGuillaumeDurand.
Speculummeditantis,the"MirrorofMeditations",writtenbyJohnGower.
Speculumperfectionis,writtenbyBrotherLeo.
Speculumstultorum,the"MirrorofFools"writtenbyNigeldeLongchamps
Speculumregale,the"MirrorofKings",whichcontainsinstructionsforayoungprince.

Ormulum,writtenbyacertainOrminCentralEngland,bearsanindirectreferencetospeculumandmay
betranslatedas"Orm'sMirror".Itisuniversalincontentsinthatitcontainstheappropriatehomiletic
materialsthroughouttheChurchcalendar.
InEnglishmirrorappearsin,amongmanyotherworks,theMyrrouroftheWorlde(1490),oneofthe
firstillustratedbooksprintedinEnglish,byWilliamCaxton(atranslationofL'imageduMonde,an
overviewofthesciences),theperenniallyrepublishedAMirrorforMagistrates(1559),andTheMiroir
orGlasseoftheSynnefulSoul,amanuscripttranslationfromtheFrenchbytheyoungQueenElizabethI
ofEngland.TheMirrorofSimpleSoulsisamodernEnglishtranslationofasimilarFrenchwork.The
word'speculum'wasrenderedintoEnglishas'mirrororglass'.

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06/07/2015

SpeculumliteratureWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

TheSpeculumRomanaeMagnificentiae,MirroroftheMagnificenceofRomewasaRenaissance"coffee
tablebook"ofprintsofthesightsofRome,especiallytheantiquities,producedbytheFrenchprintseller
andpublisherAntonioLafreri(orAntoineduPracLafrry,151277).Hehadbeenpublishingand
distributingsuchprints,andsellingthemathisshopinRome,sincethe1540s.Inthe1570shehitonthe
ideaofproducingatitlepageforthealbumsofprintshealsosold.EachcopyoftheSpeculummayhave
differentcontents,asthecustomerinRomecouldmakehisownselectionintheshop&havethem
boundup.[2]
Similarly,thejournalSpeculum,publishedbytheMedievalAcademyofAmerica,coverseveryaspect
ofthemedievalworld.

Seealso
Mirrorsforprinces

Notes
1. Thefabricated"LetterofPresterJohn"(http://www.graveworm.com/occult/texts/pjohn.html),saidtohave
beensenttoManuelIKomnenosin1165.
2. SpeculumRomanaeMagnificentiae(http://speculum.lib.uchicago.edu/content/introduction.html)website,
UniversityofChicagoLibrary

References
Bradley,Ritamary"BackgroundsoftheTitleSpeculuminMediaevalLiterature"Speculum29.1
(January1954),pp.100115.
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Categories: Historyofideas Medievalliterature
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